An Owl's Rise

'Okay, everything is ready.'

With one last check of her items Evelyn felt she was ready to go.

Each participant was allowed the use of three different expendable items be they potions, pills, talismans, or anything else along those lines.

And for today Evelyn had prepared some of her best items to give them the best chance of victory that they could get.

'Finally, there is the lunch that Melisandre made for us. She really went all out with the ingredients to give us some powerful buffs.' Evelyn thought with an almost devious smile.

Certainly, they were only allowed three items each during the match, but that did not mean they could not prepare beforehand with a few buffs.

It was actually even expected for this to be done to some degree and was considered proper preparations.

If you knew you were going to battle, why wouldn't you stack as much in your favor as possible?

Once she was completely ready Evelyn headed off to the Ranking Hall where she was going to be meeting up with Bylur and Rehni.

'I need to find room three hundred sixty-eight.'

Immediately upon arriving at the hall, Evelyn got the information about what room her team had been given for the day's match and found her way to it.

'Oh, I am the first one to arrive!'

A bit surprised she was normally the last one to show up among their team, but in a rare show her anticipation had gotten her here early.

However, she figured that this was a perfect chance to get things ready and she began setting up the meal that Melisandre had made so that Bylur and Rehni could enjoy it with her as soon as they arrived.

Quickly she had all of the food spready out on a number of dished and set up on the tables that the room provided.

Not long after she had finished Bylur and Rehni, who apparently lived in the same building, came in.

The shock on their faces was immediate. Never had they expected to show up and find that a large and delicious smelling meal would be ready and waiting for them.

"Evelyn, what is all this?" Rehni said, coming out of her daze first.

"Just a little present from my master to give us our best chance at victory. Each one of these dishes will help us by giving us a few magical buffs."

Evelyn then went on to explain what each dish was made out of and what kind of effects it would have.

"This one will increase the sharpness of our hearing. This one here will give us a bit of extra power to our muscles. Oh, and this one…"

Happily, Evelyn went over each dish and Rehni and Bylur only became more astonished.

The food provide here was way better than what pretty much any other awakened rank beast could get.

Of course, that was to be expected as it was all prepared and provided by one of the strongest owls in the Roost.

"Feel free to have what you want. There is plenty to go around." Evelyn said with a slight smile creeping on her face.

She had really been enjoying her time with Bylur and Rehni and having a group of friends that she could trust and rely on.

It reminded her of when she was still a young girl in her first life before her family was struck by tragedy.

With around an hour before their match was to begin the three of them leisurely enjoyed their meal while going over some last-minute strategy.

They had done pretty much all the preparations that they could and were in their best condition to fight.

Breaking into the top five thousand teams was actually quite a milestone. Especially for their team that was relatively low tier in comparison to the others they had been competing against.

Evelyn was still the only one that was at the mid-tier of the awakened rank. Though Bylur and Rehni were getting closer.

Their opponents however, consisted of two high tier and one mid-tier awakened rank.

In terms of their advancement Evelyn's team was certainly behind, but more than simply what tier and rank a beast was at mattered.

All three of them could be considered well above average for their levels and they had all trained and practiced hard to gain control over their magic.

Those that only chased reaching the next tier and rank often found themselves with shallower powers than those that took time to develop their foundations.

"Looks like the five-minute countdown has started. We should clean up and then I will hand out the items I prepared for the two of you." Evelyn said when a timer suddenly appeared on the back wall of the room they were in.

She had planned to give out the items earlier, but they had all gotten caught up in their conversations and the food.

Swiftly Evelyn stored all of the dishes back into her storage cuff and took out six bottles. Three for both Bylur and Rehni.

"These are the highest quality healing potions, and magical energy replenishment pills that I can currently make."

"And these are our secret weapons." Evelyn said, pointing to the two other bottles she had taken out.

Giving a quick explanation she explained what each of the alchemical items she had specially prepared for Bylur and Rehni were.

"If you ever feel you are in trouble or believe that these will give you the edge to deliver a decisive blow, feel free to use them at your own digression."

Nodding their heads, Bylur and Rehni accepted the items Evelyn had prepared for them.

As the countdown continued all the three of them felt the anticipation welling up inside them.

This was going to be their biggest battle yet and their first step into the higher ranks.

'After this we are certainly going to garner more attention. But I already prepared for that. These last two months I have made a lot of progress and fighting in unique environments against many opponents has made me quite a bit stronger. I am ready to take the next step.' Evelyn thought, steeling herself.

The countdown soon reached the last ten seconds, and when it hit zero, they were engulfed in a bright light and found themselves warped to the separate dimension where their match would take place.